Read more: 3 Strengths of the Contractor Career
1. Sticktoitiveness. “the ability to stay with a project and see it through to completion.”2. Determination. “positive emotional feeling that promotes persevering towards a difficult goal in spite of obstacles.”
3. Diagnosis. “the identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms”
1. We get the work done – Sticktoitiveness
It was 4 am in the local fancy mall. My two guys were at each other’s throats. I thought, “am I breaking up a fight between my partner and employee right now.”. Yes I did. And soon we would break up as a team, but that’s another story.
We had to install these cabinet fixtures we built for a national chain ice cream shop before 10 am and we were spent.
I knew the guys were working too hard but you know the feeling. You just want to get the job done when you’re just about sick of this client/location/agreement you made.
Installed by 9:05 am after cooler heads prevailed.
Key Takeaway: Your ability to consistently move forward through exhaustion is a remarkable asset, transforming occasional effort into a superpower known as “sticktoitiveness.”
2. Complex projects are where we really shine – Determination
The doggy door I quoted over the phone needed to be thru a stone facade. My initial phone quote for $350 wasn’t going to cut it. Recognizing the intricacy of the task and the client’s upscale neighborhood, I knew a solution surpassing the initial labor price was justified $750.
This project demanded expertise in up to five trades—drywall, masonry, painting, carpentry, and even electrical work for relocating an outlet.
Our clients do not want to hire all of these trades to get this job done and that’s why they called us.
While this project might justify a higher $1500 labor cost for the home owner because of all of these trades they would have to hire. For the jack of all trades handyman / remodeler charging that much usually doesn’t make sense.
As a handyman / remodeler we provide an high value in providing all of these trades skills, however we have not usually mastered all of them.
Which explains why we cannot charge the full price most of the time and have to come to agreeable middle price.
This price, as the $750 did for me, was a good day and 1/4 rate for the complex work.
Key Takeaway: Handyman and Remodelers should demand a high rate of pay because they can leverage a breadth of skills. And event thou these skills usually are not acquired through an formal apprentice program but rather through trial and error, we should charge a reasonably high and not cheap hourly rate.
3. What do you mean it’s leaking – Diagnosis
The custom bathroom shower was finally finished. Although a week later that dreaded phone call. Hey Mike, there is a small amount of water coming out of the recessed light in our kitchen. Can you come take a look?
Agh jeez, What could be the problem? Wait a second I did this one by the book:, permits, licensed trades, oh wait the plumber. He was licensed but was in aand out pretty fast. I noted that and double-checked his work, but not close enough.
Most of the time you would call the plumber back to fix the leak. But you know you don’t want this to turn into more work. You can’t be sure if the plumber is going to mask off the kitchen, put up plastic walls, and carefully open the recessed light to find the leak with minimal drywall damage.
So you do the investigation yourself. You see the leaking pipe fitting, re-do the fitting and dry out the ceiling cavity. Then you carefully put the light back together with no drywall work needed.
Sometimes you might charge back the plumber for this re-work, however my guage is if it takes me less than 4 hours to fix then I am going to eat the labor time. BUT if it takes longer and has significant material costs, then the contractor is going to be called back.
Key Takeaway: There is always a solution in residential contracting that is within your grasp. And sometimes it’s faster to diagnois and fix the problem yourself than possibly adding more complication, delay and further risk pissing of the client.
Remodlers with experience can diagnose a problem and come up with a solution without causing more problems.
What kind of bad experience do you overcome? Do my experiences pale in comparison? Let me know in the comments.
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